The surname Loomis has unwillingly become the name of choice in slasher films and, like so many Deadly Movies connections, it can be traced back to the master’s Psycho (1960). Sam Loomis, played by John Gavin, was Marian Crane’s boyfriend, hopelessly searching The Bates Motel for clues to the whereabouts of his AWOL girlfriend. The Loomis family would return to the Psycho universe in Psycho 2 (1983). This time Sam’s widow Lila Loomis (Marian’s sister no less, now a Loomis) and daughter Mary Loomis turn up to exact some bitchin Loomis revenge on Norman.

John Carpenter’s 1979 Halloween utilised elements of Psycho to create a template that would become the modern slasher blueprint, but this wasn’t all he borrowed. He also grabbed his leading lady from Psycho stock, Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of Janet Leigh (Marian Crane) and he directly borrowed a character name, Sam Loomis. Although rather than the grieving boyfriend, his Loomis was a child psychologist and obsessive nemesis to serial killer Michael Myers. Like Psycho before it, one film in a franchise is never enough for a Loomis. Dr Sam Loomis would return to Halloween in four more films and two remakes. It’s also worth noting that the character of Annie Brackett is played by Nancy Loomis.

Then it would be the turn of another horror legend, Wes Craven, creator of horror cornerstones The Last House on The Left (1972), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). In 1996 Craven’s Scream would reference and parody the forefathers of horror, especially Halloween of which both score and movie feature directly in the film, as does the name Loomis. Here however Loomis is on the wrong side of the knife handle. Billy Loomis is the mastermind behind the ‘Ghost Face’ killings, while his mother Mrs Loomis (going all Mrs Voorhees) would take up the knife and mask in Scream 2 (1997). Although the Loomis’s would get name checks in Scream 3 (2000) and Scream 4 (2011) no actual family members reappear.

Can it be true? A Hitch cameo in the 1983 sequel to his 1960 seminal classic Psycho? Granted the great man passed away back in 1980, three years prior to the release of Psycho 2. Love it, or hate it (I’m quite fond of it), you have to give props to director Richard Franklin for a loving homage to Hitchcock that works on so many levels. Take a closer look at the picture above. On the right-hand-side wall you can clearly make out the famous Hitchcock profile silhouette. The Hitchcock silhouette was made famous by the intro to his TV show ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents‘ and his subsequent silhouette signature. Within the context of the Psycho legacy, what better place to feature Hitch than in the mysterious bedroom of Mrs Bates, the room that held viewers in such suspense and intrigue back in 1960. As Norman and Mary enter mother’s room for the first time in the film (and the first time for viewers in 23 years) the ambient evening twilight casts Hitchcock’s infamous silhouette against the worn-out old wallpaper for a fleeting moment before disappearing when the lights come on. I think Hitch would have enjoyed the morbid humor of keeping mother company ‘up there’ in that evilest of movie bedrooms.